Hyogo 2011

2011 Himeji Castle

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex located in Himeji, in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 buildings with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō ("White Egret Castle") or Shirasagi-jō ("White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.

Himeji Castle dates to 1333, when Akamatsu Norimura built a fort on top of Himeyama hill. The fort was dismantled and rebuilt as Himeyama Castle in 1346, and then remodeled into Himeji Castle two centuries later. Himeji Castle was then significantly remodeled in 1581 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who added a three-story castle keep. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu awarded the castle to Ikeda Terumasa for his help in the Battle of Sekigahara, and Ikeda completely rebuilt the castle from 1601 to 1609, expanding it into a large castle complex.[4] Several buildings were later added to the castle complex by Honda Tadamasa from 1617 to 1618. For over 400 years, Himeji Castle has remained intact, even throughout the extensive bombing of Himeji in World War II, and natural disasters such as the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake.

Himeji Castle is the largest and most visited castle in Japan, and it was registered in 1993 as one of the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country.

Thanks to Toshiya for this beautiful castle card of Hyogo, received: Spring 2013

Hyogo 2009

2009 Stork

"The Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) was a typical species of bird living in Satoyama areas in Japan. The storks inhabited all of Japan about 200 years ago but they began to decrease in number, drawing closer to extinction from over-hunting, agricultural chemicals, and habitat-loss and -deterioration. The Tajima Region of Hyogo prefecture was the last breeding area for storks in Japan. Hyogo prefecture started conservation activities in 1955 and captive breeding in 1965, and succeeded in breeding in 1989. The reintroduction project was planned according to the IUCN guidelines. We restored rural environments, especially paddy fields and rivers as habitats for the storks. We started to release the storks into the wild in Toyooka City in 2005 for a total of 27 storks by 2010, all of which were monitored by ground and satellite tracking to analyze the ecology and their behavior. The storks started breeding in 2006 and have been successful since 2007 in the wild. The population has been growing, reaching a total of 40 birds in 2010. The young storks that hatched in the wild showed a wide-ranged dispersal all over Japan, several of which stayed outside Toyooka City. " Source
Further reading 1 2

Thank you Yukiko for this special gotochi , I learnt something new today!